A three-judge bench of the Colombo High Court has ordered that the 2018 Wanathavilluwa explosives case be heard daily from October 5, Hiru News reported on Monday.
Judges Lal Ranasinghe Bandara, Rashmi Singappuli and Nayomi Wickramasekara issued the directive when the trial was taken up on Monday (28).
The case
The prosecution concerns the illegal stockpiling of firearms, ammunition and explosive materials at a coconut plantation in Wanathavilluwa, Puttalam. Investigators have linked the site to Zahran Hashim, the lead attacker in the Easter Sunday bombings, and to other religious extremists.
The Attorney General indicted six defendants on 14 charges. Hiru names them as main suspect Abu Haneefa Mohamed Musable, alias Abu Dahida, along with Amir Hamza Mohamed Hamas, Mohamed Sarifu Adam Lebbe, Mohamed Ibrahim Sadiq Abdullah, Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufer and Mohamed Rameesh Mohamed Sajid.
During a raid on the site in 2018, Criminal Investigation Department officers seized a stock of nitrates, 12 live rounds, a firearm, and raw materials used to manufacture explosives including nitric acid and urea.
Four accused are already serving sentences
Four of the six named defendants are already serving prison terms following their conviction in the main Easter Sunday trial, according to Hiru.
That overlap produced the procedural issue the court dealt with on Monday. The fourth and sixth defendants told the bench they had not received their case documents after being transferred from Colombo Remand Prison to Welikada Prison following their conviction on September 22.
The bench ordered prison authorities to ensure all required documents reach both defendants by Tuesday (29) — a step that clears the way for the daily hearings to begin the following Monday.
A note on sourcing
LankaNewz could not locate an account of Monday’s order from a second reachable verified newsroom. Ada Derana’s report of the hearing was inaccessible, and the Daily News site was unreachable. The details above rest on Hiru News alone.
